Love is a FiveLetter Word
by ktface3
Summary: He knew he loved her from the beginning, but could she ever feel the same way about him? A story of friendship and confession of feelings, but it's not who you think it's about...


_A/N: __wanted: middle aged black man with sass. Big butt, bigger heart. This is a continuation of my attempt to break out of my Jam monotony by writing some oneshots about the secondary characters (see 'Andy the Latte Boy'). You'll find this story somewhat disappointing though if you expect me to fully break free from the mold. At least I'm trying. Enjoy!_

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He sauntered in to the wine and cheese reception at the 25th Annual American Crossword Puzzle Tournament at the Marriot in Brooklyn and let out a heavy sigh. There she was, standing across the room next to her fiancée sipping on a merlot. The wine stained her lips a deep burgundy and he longed to kiss the tinge off of her, but then his mind snapped back to reality. He helped himself to some Muenster cheese and a glass of cabernet and sat down on a chair in the corner. 

They had met at this tournament five years ago when they competed against each other. Neither had made it very far, but out of competition sprang friendship: they talked about each other's lives and families, he had shown her pictures of his children, and they found out they shared a love of mystery stories. They were in fact both in the middle of reading the same Agatha Christie novel. He immediately felt the spark, but she seemed to be blind to what he thought were open feelings for her.

A few weeks after the tournament, he received a call from her asking what a five-letter word for "pack away" was. He felt honored to receive her call and give her help, and so from then on whenever either one of them was stuck on a word, they would simply get on the phone and discuss it with each other. They were sort of partners in crime in a way, setting out to solve every crossword puzzle in the world. Not to mention it was an excuse to talk to her; sometimes he would call with easy riddles just to hear her sweet voice on the other line.

Then one day, he received a call that he thought would change his life forever. She called him up seemingly as usual with a seven-letter word for "ultimate commitment." _This is an easy one_, he thought to himself. _Maybe she just wanted an excuse to talk to me._ And so he told her, "married."

"That's right!" she exclaimed through the phone. "And that will be me in a year!" He felt like his stomach had just simultaneously crept into his throat and into his kidneys. _She's getting married?_ He had to sit down; losing the one woman he cared about most in his life besides his daughters to someone else was unbearable. He didn't pick up a crossword puzzle for weeks.

And now, here he was, practically face-to-face with the man who had won his woman's heart. He couldn't help but notice how uninterested this guy looked; from the event to the woman herself, he had an expression of pure boredom on his face, and it made him wonder why he was marrying her at all. He should at least pretend to care about something she's so passionate about.

Finally, he saw his opening. She parted from her unenthused fiancée to get some more Brie, and so he got up out of his chair and made his way to her, his heart pounding in his chest. He knew this would be the only opportunity to try and win her heart, and he wasn't about to back down now.

"Hello Terri," he tried to sound cool as he also took a slice of Brie for his plate.

"Hi Stanley. You ready for the tournament tomorrow? I have been practicing like crazy the past few weeks, and… I'm feeling kind of good."

"I was..." He knew he had to spit it out or else he could lose her forever. This was his only chance. "I... am in love with you."

"What?" Her stunned expression said it all. He had never felt so aware of his pulse, the weight on his feet and his lungs trying to slowly take in and exhale oxygen.

He immediately felt compelled to apologize for shocking her with his confession, "I'm sorry if that's strange for you to hear, but I needed you to hear it. It's probably not good timing, I know. I just..."

She whispered sharply, her eyes wide with apprehension, "What are you doing?... What do you expect me to say to that?" and all he could do was stand there and look like a fool. He should've known she would reject him; after all, she had always only ever seen him as someone to call on when she was stumped on a crossword clue.

"I… just needed you to know. Once." He began to brush past her when he felt her grip on his arm, pulling him back to her. _What is she doing? Hasn't she humiliated me enough? _He looked into her deep brown eyes and saw overwhelming joy in them, something he had never dreamed he'd see when she looked at him, and this sparked a faint flicker of hope in his heart.

She bit her lip and smiled at him, "Stanley, I… I think I love you too." His eyes went wide as she drew him in for a kiss, getting the attention of a small crowd around them. She slipped off her engagement ring and left it on one of the banquet tables, and the two proudly walked out of the reception hall together.

…

"Terri, can you help me with something?" he shouted to his wife as she finished unloading the dishwasher in the kitchen.

She came into the living room where he was seated in his favorite armchair with a crossword puzzle in hand. She smiled at him as she remembered what had brought them together, but then shook her head, "Oh Stanley, you know I'm out of practice with those things."

"Sometimes all you need is a fresh set of eyes dear," he beckoned to her and so she joined him, thoughtfully leaning over his shoulder and looking at the page. "Alright, it's a four-letter word for 'mutual attraction.'"

"This one is easy honey!" she exclaimed. "Love!"

"No dear, I think you're mistaken. Love is a five-letter word."

She looked at him skeptically, "Oh yeah? How do you spell it?"

"T-E-R-R-I." He smiled at his beautiful wife and she returned his expression. Even if it wasn't the conventional way to spell it, it would always be the way he spelled it in his heart.

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"_Review" is a six-letter word for "telling the author what you think of her story."_


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